Advertising sign



Patented Apr. 11, 1922;

L. P. LINDEN.

ADVERTISING SIGN. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1922.

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LOUES PERCY LINDEN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

ADVERTISING SIG-N.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. it, 1%22.

Application filed February 27, 1922. Serial No. 539,640.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, Louis PERCY LINDEN, a subject of the Kin of GreatBritain, and resident of London, ringland, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Advertising Signs, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to advertising machines that are mechanicallyoperated in such a manner that the sign or advertisement appears letterby letter in succession and when completed the several letters or signsconstituting the advertisement automatically disappear, that is to say,in a similar manner to the well known electric signs that are operatedsimilarly to convey the same idea in darkness by the switching on andoff of the lamps. '1

In connection with apparatus of this kind it has already been proposedto assemble the several plates upon which are inscribed the letters, ona common axis so that they can be individually raised to view by theeffect of spring urged plungers that are actuated by cams formed onrotating discs within the cabinet so that the letters are raised abovethe top of the cabinet when the plunger is propelled by the cam and fallback when the cam is out of engagement with the plunger. Likewise in amotor driven vehicle it has been proposed to utilise the motive power ofthe vehicle to drive a shaft on which are mounted cams or eccentricswhich operate vertically disposed rods each of which at its end isprovided with a letter or sign that is projected by this means throughthe roof of the vehicle thus forming a disappearing advertisement.Similarly by means of clockwork and other mechanical power it has beenproposed to rotate a shaft carrying cams that engage with bell-cranklevers the free end of each of which is attached to a cord that effectsa rotatory movement of a ball or sphere that carries the letter or signwhich becomes visible through an appropriate orifice in the cabinetcontaining the entire mechanism and the object of this invention is tosimplify the construction of such advertising apparatus and facilitateits general use for which purpose the apparatus according to the presentinvention comprises a cabinet within which is contained clockwork orother suitable mechanism whereby a longitudinal shaft is rotatedcontinuously, the said shaft having attired thereto suitable cams thatoperate trip levers or the like that support the several letters whichare thereby raised or projected upwards through slots formed in the topof the cabinet. Bythis means any number of letters or signs may beautomatically propelled or ejected from the cabinet so as to come intoview thereby successively spelling awhole sentence or a trade name of anarticle which it is desired to exhibit intermittently as anadvertisement or announcement.

The cabinet and the entire apparatus constructed in accordance with thepresent invention forms a concise self-contained article which can beplaced in a shop window or show case or on a shop counter, and by theemployment of the clock-work mechanism or other motive power and variousset-s of letters or signs, different advertisements may be exhibitedfrom time to time by the same machine, the letters or signs being madeinterchangeable for this purpose.

A mechanically operated advertising apparatus embodying my invention isillustrated in the annexed drawing wherein:

r igure 1. 1s a front elevation of the advertising cabinet.

Figure 2. a sectional elevation as viewed from the rear of the machinewith the back removed and Figure 3. a transverse sectional elevation online w-00 of Figure 2. looking from left to right of that figure.

Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the figures ofthe drawing.

Referring now to the drawing a is the cabinet mounted on the base 6 inwhich is rotatably supported the drum or cylinder 0 by the bearings (Zin the end 6 of the cabinet (4 and the partition f that forms the spaceor enclosure 9 for the mechanism by which the apparatus is operatedwhich in the example shown is an electric motor.

The top of the cabinet (0 is provided with a slot h which is preferablymetal lined and provided with guides to retain the metal or othersuitable slats in their respective positions along the slot it. Each ofthese slats i has inscribed thereon in any convenient manner a letter asshown in Figure 1. and is provided wit-l1 a slit j with which engagesthe end is of a trip lever that oscillates on the spindle m, the otherend it of the trip lever normally rests against the stop bar 0 when theslat i is invisible, or actuated by one or other of the steps or cams pof the drum or cylinder 0 and when in the tilted position it rests onthe periphery thereof until the rotation oi the drum 0 brings the gap gopposite thereto when it falls back against the stop bar 0 and allowsthe slat i to disappear. lit will be readily understood that the slats iof which the advertisement is composed can be readily removed andreplaced so that differentadvertiseinents may be exhibited from time totime by the same machine and obviously av less or greater number can beemployed according to require Hi81ltS.'

7 hat I claim is l. A mechanically operated advertising sign comprisinga cabinet within which is rotated by any suitable means a cylindricaldrum provided with steps that successively engage with trip levers whichproject slats from the top of the cabinet in such a manner as tomechanically complete the spelling oi the advertisement to be exhibitedand means for effecting the disappearance of said from the top of thecabinet in such a manner 7 as to mechanically complete the spelling ofthe advertisement to be exhibited said cylindrical drurn being providedwith a gap to allow of the immediate disappearance of the several slatsexhibited.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

OUIS PERCY LINDENv

